INDIANAPOLIS – Despite having held more finance events in Washington than public events in Indiana since his primary victory, Rep. Braun has apparently decided to temporarily stop campaigning and go on vacation instead of speaking to the Hoosiers he hopes to represent.
Rep. Braun’s “absence on Indiana’s hustings is becoming more conspicuous,” Adam Wren noted at the top of Importantville this morning after the candidate failed to personally attend any of this weekend’s 4th of July events. Importantville even reported that Rep. Braun has actually been on vacation instead of campaigning, even though he only has 127 days left to greet voters across the state who are unfamiliar with him beyond his TV ads.
It’s unlikely that Hoosiers would call Rep. Braun’s vacation well-deserved, as outside of raising money from special interest donors he simply hasn’t been working very hard. Since June 11, Rep. Braun hasn’t held a single campaign appearance in Indiana, though he has found time to appear at events in Washington and Beverly Hills. Indeed, since the primary, he’s held more finance events in D.C. than public events in front of Hoosier voters. His penchant for hobnobbing with wealthy out-of-state donors over Hoosier voters is hypocritical of his “outsider” campaign rhetoric that surrogates have used for him in his absence.
Rep. Braun’s campaign even seems to be aware of the need for damage control. His campaign posted photos on social media about being on the “parade trail” this weekend to give the appearance of an active campaign; Rep. Braun himself was noticeably missing from all of them.
“While his opponent met with Hoosier voters at four parades and four other public events this weekend, Rep. Braun would rather go on vacation than hold a single event in three weeks,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Representing Hoosiers in the Senate is hard work, and Indiana expects its candidates to fight for every vote instead of taking them for granted. Rep. Braun’s laziness isn’t just letting down his supporters by hiding from them – he’s failing every Hoosier who expects candidates to do more than just meet with special interest donors in D.C. and Beverly Hills.”
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